


What The Water Gave Me

by alkjira



Series: Nwalin Week [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Dwalin is human though, How Do I Tag, M/M, Nori Is A Water Spirit, vaguely historical setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3926797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alkjira/pseuds/alkjira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you are out walking late in the evening or early in the morning and hear the sound of beautiful music coming from a lake or river you best watch yourself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What The Water Gave Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 2 of the Nwalin Week - Folk Tales
> 
> Have a link:
> 
> [Näcken](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_%28water_spirit%29)
> 
> This is my own spin on the concept though.
> 
> Title borrowed from the Florence + The Machine song by the same name

Dwalin told himself that it wouldn’t work, there was no way that it would actually work, but he wasn’t sure if he tried to convince himself or if it was just preparation to feel damned silly.  
  
The prick of the needle stung more than such a tiny wound had the right to, but Dwalin merely gritted his teeth and kept pressing on the fleshy part of his thumb until three drops of blood had fallen down into the river; the red almost black in the darkness of the night.  
  
The sky was almost entirely overcast, and if Dwalin hadn’t walked the same path two times before with the moon and stars to guide him he likely would have gotten lost.  
  
The sound of the river had helped, once he’d gotten close enough to listen for it, but it was likely only dumb luck that hadn’t made him stumble over something and fall and break his neck.  
  
After the third drop had fallen Dwalin stepped back and absently brought his hand up to his mouth so he could suck away the remaining blood; the sharp metal taste bursting on his tongue.  
  
There. Now he’d done what he could.

This was the third Thursday night that he’d returned to the river, the first time had been on a full moon, and now he’d offered up three drops of his blood. If Näcken was real and if he would come then it would be now or never.  
  
Licking his lips Dwalin moved to sit on the riverside, just far enough back that the water wouldn’t splash on him, his fiddle and bow held with care in his lap.  
  
He was a passable violin player, having learnt from his mother before the fever took both her and father, but if he became a better one; the _best_ one, then he could make sure his family was provided for.  
  
After learning from Näcken he’d be good enough to play for the Queen and if he could work at court then he’d able to get all the books that Balin would ever want, and he’d be able to help his cousins.  
  
Balin could stay inside and read instead of working at the fields, and Dwalin could leave his apprenticeship with Bolg before he ‘accidentally’ ended up shoving the blacksmith into the furnace.  
  
In the stories there was always a price to be paid, but this would be worth it.  
  
So Dwalin waited. And waited. Finally, after he’d called himself all sorts of silly, he got back up on his feet and looked at the water merrily coursing by in front of him.  
  
“I guess not then,” he said, sighing. Still not sure if he was relieved or disappointed.  
  
As he turned to leave, to make his way home in the dark, a large splash sounded from behind him.  
  
“You lasted longer than most. Despite what they say about the staying power of the young.”

Dwalin snapped his head around and his eyes widened.

Standing in the water was a rather short, slight ma- no, not a man. Male, yes. Quite obviously in fact as the creature in front of him was as bare as a tree at the end of autumn. Dwalin could see everything.  
  
When Dwalin managed to drag his eyes upwards again generous lips were curved in a small knowing smirk. But Dwalin was still too stunned to feel embarrassed.  
  
The very fact that he _could_ see that smile, could see the lack of clothes, that was just another reason why it was not actually a man standing in front of him.  
  
He… he almost seemed to be lit from within. His skin… glowed. As if the moon was shining down on him, but when Dwalin glanced at the sky it was still covered with clouds.  
  
And if that was not enough said skin had a blue-greenish tint to it, one that was in sharp contrast with the red of his hair. But despite that, despite the sheer otherness of him (or perhaps because of it) he was just as beautiful as the stories made him out to be.  
  
He had called, and Näcken had come.

Dwalin swallowed and made himself take a step forward . “I’d like to-“  
  
“Not so fast,” Näcken murmured. “Toss the needle away, it’s steel.”  
  
Dwalin’s hand moved to cover his shirt pocket.  
  
“If I do that someone might step on it. Or an animal could. Can I leave it on the stone here? Take it when I leave?”  
  
A small frown swept over Näcken’s face, almost too fast for Dwalin to notice it before it was gone again.

“You may do that.”  
  
Dwalin put needle down, such a small thing to be concerned, what did he expect Dwalin to do with it anyway? But it was an easy enough thing to do, and perhaps it would make Näcken more inclined to accept Dwalin as his student if Dwalin obeyed him.  
  
“Good,” Näcken said once the needle was on the ground. “ _Now_ you can come closer.” A sly smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth once more. “But fair warning, only touch the water if you’re planning on staying with me.”

Dwalin instinctively took a step backwards; warning from a dozen stories flashing through his mind, and a bright burst of laughter escaped from those pretty lips.

“I see,“ Näcken said, snorting in a way that seemed entirely too… normal. “Play for me then, let me hear what I have to work with. I _assume_ that’s what you’ve come for.”

The slightly bored tone ruffled Dwalin’s feathers and he huffed in annoyance, speaking before he could think better of it.  
  
“Or maybe I was just out walking my fiddle when I tripped and landed with my finger on a needle. Thrice.”  
  
“Is that so?” Näcken said, one eyebrow travelling upwards. “I’ll be taking my leave of you then.”  
  
He began to sink down into the water and only then did it occur to Dwalin how strange it was to see someone _standing_ in the middle of the river. It was shallow enough on the edges but not in the middle. No, in the middle it would be much too deep, and the current would surely be strong enough to sweep you away if you were fool enough to try.  
  
But Näcken was a spirit from and of the water, of course such things would not apply to him. 

“No, wait,” Dwalin said, moving forward again but being sure to stop well before the edge of the water. “Please, stay.”  
  
“Oh, I liked that,” Näcken purred. “You ask very nicely.” He slid up to… to sit on the surface of the water.  
  
Dwalin blinked, jaw falling open at the incredible sight.  
  
“Go on then,” Näcken prompted. “Play for me so I’ll know if you’re worth my while. Not that I mind looking at you, but…” His gaze travelled down the length of Dwalin’s body. “You might have to lose some clothes to keep my attention if you want to do it that way. Keep your mouth like that though and you’ll give me all sorts of ideas.”

This… this was not the way Dwalin had imagined this to go. The stories never said anything about this.

If you were a child Näcken would try to take you away, Dwalin had no idea why, if you were a beautiful woman he’d try and seduce you, he that he sort of understood, but if you wanted to learn from him he damned well wasn’t supposed to try and do either of the first two.  
  
Taking a deep breath Dwalin lifted his fiddle to his chin and put the bow to the strings. He closed his eyes, hoped that the darkness would hide his red cheeks, and then began to play.  
  
He tried not to think, tried just to let the music flow through him and out of his fiddle.  
  
“You’ve talent.”  
  
Dwalin’s eyes flew open and the bow skipped over the string, causing a foul noise.  
  
The voice had sounded much closer than he’d expected and true enough, Näcken had left the water and was now standing right in front of him. Close enough that not more than a foot separated them.  
  
All that strangely-coloured flawless skin close enough that Dwalin could so very easily have reached out to see if it was as soft as it looked. Would it be warm? Or as cold as the river water?  
  
“I’d not expected that from you,” Näcken continued, giving Dwalin a searching look. “Not with those big hands of yours. Are you a farmer?”  
  
Said hands tightened a little on the fiddle and bow, as much as a reply to the grudging compliment and off-hand slight as to stop Dwalin from listening to that ill-advised part of him that _wanted_ to reach out and-  
  
“Apprentice for a smith,” he said shortly, forgetting that he’d been planning on being as polite as possible. “Will you teach me?”  
  
“Yes.” Näcken nodded. “Music is what your hands are meant for. Not metal. Come back tomorrow night. Alone,” he added, even though it wasn't necessary. Dwalin had no intention of bringing Balin or anyone else.  
  
He returned the nod, struggling to loosen his grip on the neck of the fiddle before he’d crack it. “Thank you.”  
  
“Oh, don’t thank me _yet_ ,” Näcken murmured. “Run along now and I’ll see you tomorrow. One last thing,” he added when Dwalin had turned to leave. “Call me Nori.”

-  
  
They met each night for a month.  
  
Dwalin knew that Balin had noticed the odd hours he was leaving and returning, but he also knew that his brother assumed that there was a lass that Dwalin was sweet on.  
  
That had been made all too clear by the knowing comments about being _careful_ and small mutters that Dwalin had been meant to hear about it being ‘about damned time’.  
  
Dwalin was of age, and sure it was a little strange that he wasn’t yet married or at least courting, but it wasn’t _that_ strange. It happened. He’d just not met any girl that turned his head and made his heart beat faster. Not like-  
  
Dwalin stomped that thought down before it would land him in trouble.  
  
Even deeper trouble that was.  
  
He’d worried, and expected, that being up most of the night would land him in trouble with Bolg, from being too tired to do all the things he demanded. But even though Dwalin only had time to sleep for a few hours each night he woke up feeling as if he’d slept eight.  
  
He even dreamt. And _that_ was where the trouble begun.  
  
The dreams came to him almost every night.  
  
They were all about Nori, and most of them ended with Dwalin waking up stuck to his sheets as if he was a lad just figuring out that his cock was good for more than pissing.  
  
He’d not dared to ask Nori about the dreams. If he had something to do with them. He wasn’t even sure what sort of answer he was hoping to get if he did ask.  
  
Everything about Nori seemed to make Dwalin want two things at once, and he had no idea what to do about it.  
  
-

“I've taught you everything I know now. You'll just need to come here one more time.”  
  
Dwalin wasn’t sure if he imagined the slight note of unhappiness in Nori’s voice or not.  
  
“You’ve not said what you want in return,” Dwalin muttered, not looking at his teacher.

They were sitting together on the a large boulder sunk into the ground just at the edge of the river. Nori with his feet in the water and Dwalin’s curled up on the stone.  
  
The first time Nori had suggested that they’d move to sit there Dwalin had been wary, but Nori had just laughed and explained that Dwalin tumbling down into the water by accident wouldn’t count. It would only ever count if he stepped into the water out of his own free will.  
  
When Dwalin questioned if that was really true Nori had bared his teeth in something that was not quite grin and asked if Dwalin was _really_ sure he’d told the truth the first time around regarding the water. And then he’d waved his hand and a splash of water had hit Dwalin in the face, making him sputter and cough.  
  
"Trust me or don't."  
  
He’d moved to sit on the rock, and Nori hadn’t tried to take him away or push him into the water. He’d not as much as laid a finger on him. That only happened in Dwalin’s dreams, and in his dreams he always wanted it. 

“And you’ve not asked,” Nori said now, pulling his legs up to turn towards Dwalin. “Is that because you’ve not wanted to know? Or… because you’ve known all along?”

 Sitting together as they were it was the easiest thing in the world for Nori to reach out and put his hand on Dwalin’s trouser clad thigh.  
  
“I thought you only seduced women,” Dwalin said, heart beating like a drum inside his chest. He just barely managed to stop himself from adding ‘that’s what the stories say!’, as that would make him sound even more like a whining child.  
  
“I like beautiful people,” Nori murmured. “No matter their shape. And I find you very beautiful. You _must_ know this by now, so why say something silly like that? You don’t need to worry. I’m not looking to take something from you. What I would like is for you to give yourself to me.”  
  
The hand with its long, slim clever fingers travelled upwards, stroking gently over the rough cloth covering the inside of Dwalin’s thigh before ghosting over his crotch.

“Next time will be the last time you’ll need to come here,” Nori said, and a breath that Dwalin didn’t know that he’d been holding in rushed out when Nori moved his hand away. “But I’d like my payment now.”  
  
White teeth were bared in a grin that was a little too wild to belong to anyone other than Nori. “A kiss,” he said.  
  
“A- kiss?” Dwalin repeated, having expected something else. Something more. And as usual when concerning Nori he was not sure if it was relief or not that was flowing through him.  
  
“A kiss,” Nori said again. “Surely that’s not too much to ask? And then we’ll be even. Which means that whatever you’d like to offer me _next time_ will be because you want it as much as I do.”  
  
Nori’s eyes darkened when Dwalin licked his lips. “So, will you give me a kiss?” he asked, tucking a strand of long red hair behind his ear.  
  
Having no words Dwalin nodded and leaned forward to press his mouth against Nori’s.  
  
Nori's skin wasn’t cold, but neither was the water spirit warm. But that was quite all right as the barely there brush of lips against lips still made Dwalin feel as hot as if he’d been sitting in the sun for hours. Now wonder all those lasses in the stories jumped into his arms.  
  
Groaning low in his throat Dwalin opened his mouth, tongue licking along Nori’s lips.

Nori’s arms wrapped around Dwalin’s neck at the same time his mouth opened beneath Dwalin’s, and later, when Dwalin pulled back from the kiss he found that Nori had at some point climbed into his lap; legs now splayed on each side of Dwalin’s hips.

“I know I said _one_ kiss,” Nori said, fingers drawing invisible patterns on the back of Dwalin’s neck as his other hand caressed his chest. “But I would very much like another.”  
  
Dwalin groaned, leaning forward to press his forehead against Nori’s.  
  
“Where’s my fiddle?”  
  
Nori blinked. “That’s not the response I was expecting. But it’s next to you. And you need a better one anyway.”  
  
Sucking in a breath through his nose Dwalin looked down to check that his fiddle had indeed not tumbled down into the water. As he did so it was impossible not to look at Nori’s cock. It was hard, wet at the tip and almost standing straight up.  
  
Dwalin had never expected to think someone's cock pretty .He’d also never expected to find his own cock hard and aching because of another man. Though… Nori wasn’t a man was he? But since he looked like one, was there a difference.

Regardless, the noise Nori made when Dwalin touched him was also pretty.  
  
“So soft,” Dwalin murmured as he gently slid his hand up and down Nori’s length.

“ _Soft_?” Nori snorted, bucking into Dwalin’s touch. “I’m quite hard, thanks to you.”  
  
“Your skin. It’s the softest thing I’ve ever felt.”

There were a few moments of silence.

“You keep surprising me,” Nori murmured before leaning in for another kiss, one that Dwalin eagerly returned.  
  
“There,” Nori said when they parted again. “I’ve had my kiss. And now you need to leave.”  
  
“But-“ Dwalin protested, looking down at both of their laps.  
  
“Next time,” Nori promised, grinning at him before sliding out of Dwalin’s lap and into the river. “Tomorrow,” he added just before disappearing into the stream and leaving Dwalin sitting on the boulder, cock aching and head confused.

-  
  
The next night Nori played for him, had Dwalin play the same piece back, knowing that he'd never played better. After correcting a few minor mistakes in his technique Nori declared him as good as he would get.  
  
“And don’t get me wrong, that’s very good,” Nori promised as he carelessly tossed his own fiddle back into the river, something that always made Dwalin wince even though he knew that the instrument would be fine. “You’ll just need a little more practice but that you can get on your own. You’ll be able to play people’s moods just as well as you play your instrument. They’ll shower you with coin.”

Nori… did not sound happy about this and Dwalin tried to figure out what he could possibly have done to upset Nori since they last parted. Had he made too many mistake as he’d played after all? Had Nori expected him to be better still?  
  
“You are not pleased,” Dwalin said, gently placing his fiddle down next to him on the smoothest, flattest bit of the rock. Despite Nori thinking that he needed a better one he would not even be able to afford a new fiddle of any quality, and if it was damaged all his plans would fall apart. “What-“

“Come with me into the water.”  
  
While Nori had been the one who had said that Dwalin kept surprising _him,_ Dwalin felt that out of the two of them it was _not_ Nori who always found his jaw attempting to travel down to his chest.  
  
“I don’t want this to be the last time I see you,” Nori said. “I realised that if I let you go it will be.”  
  
“I can come back,” Dwalin protested, only realising as he said the words that he truly wanted to come back. The thought that this would be the last time he’d see Nori… that was not a good one.  
  
“But you’ll leave, and then there’ll be another last time.” Nori shook his head. “Even if you don’t wish to leave the years go by so fast for you mortals. Each time might as well be the last time.”

“If I go into the water,” Dwalin said slowly. “If I go with you. _Would_ I be able to leave again?”  
  
“You know that’s not how this works.” Nori took Dwalin’s hand, twining their fingers together. “You’d like it though.”  
  
“My family. My brother…”  
  
“Will be taken care of. They will all be taken care of. I swear.”  
  
Dwalin saw the cautious hope in Nori’s eyes, and it physically pained him to crush it. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I can’t come with you.”  
  
Nori’s face twisted, and then he let go of Dwalin's hand and scrambled backwards into the river. There was no splash, no noise, instead he was just… gone.

-

Years passed and everything Dwalin had wished for came true.

The dreams had stopped on the same night as Dwalin had turned Nori down, which likely meant that they had been Nori’s doing after all, but it did not matter anyway as Nori was never far from Dwalin’s thoughts.  
  
Balin was concerned and also curious since he knew that Dwalin _had_ gone to meet someone, just not who, but Dwalin couldn’t tell him. Memories was all he had left of Nori and he’d not share them with anyone.

-  
  
One night Dwalin was out walking through the grounds belonging to his estate, given to him by one of his patrons, and he stopped by the small lake.  
  
It was a warm summer’s night, and not even the slightest breeze moved across the lake’s surface, making the water a perfect mirror of the starry skies above.  
  
The skies did ripple when the first drop of Dwalin’s blood hit the water. Tossing his knife behind him on the grass Dwalin held his hand out, watching the blood run from the cut across his palm and into the lake.

“I thought you wouldn’t come back.”  
  
The tense line of Dwalin’s shoulders relaxed at the familiar voice, at the sight of the familiar figure standing in the lake. “For a while I didn’t think I would either.”  
  
“But here you are.” Nori’s expression was guarded, his tone snide. “What do you want? Come to ask for more lessons?”  
  
“I’ve come to ask what you want,” Dwalin said. “I’ve written a letter to my brother. I've placed it on my bed. Telling him that he’s not to worry. That I’ve gone to see the world. He’ll worry anyway, but…” Dwalin trailed off on a sigh. “I couldn’t go with you before. I wasn’t ready. I am now. If you still want me.”  
  
He gestured at himself, uncaring of how his palm was still bleeding; fat drops of red tumbling down into the water. “I’m- It’s been… twenty years.”

Nori on the other hand looked exactly the same as Dwalin remembered. His hair had not decided to move from the top of his head down to his chin. There weren’t any lines around his eyes and mouth. He'd not gone soft around the waist and there was no hints of grey in his hair.  
  
Dwalin was just shy of forty but as he looked at Nori’s unchanged beauty he felt that he might as well have been eighty. What had made him think that Nori would still want him?  
  
His hand falling limply to his side Dwalin bowed his head, not able to look at Nori's blank expression any longer. “I’m sorry, I- I shouldn’t have disturbed you. I'll lea-”

The next thing he knew he was lying on his back on the ground, a seething Nori straddling his waist.  
  
“You have some nerve,” he hissed, fisting his hands in the white cotton of Dwalin’s shirt. Before Dwalin could reply Nori leaned down and claimed Dwalin’s mouth in a kiss that was more teeth than lips.

Groaning, Dwalin’s moved to wrap his arms around Nori, but strong hands caught his wrists and pressed them against the ground on each side of his head.

Breathing harshly through his nose Dwalin sucked on Nori’s tongue and tried to arch upwards, trying to get more, get closer. Nori did not seem to need to breath, something Dwalin hadn’t really noticed before but which seemed obvious not that he did, but eventually he did pull back, leaving Dwalin breathless and panting.

“Why didn’t you come before now?” Nori demanded.

“My brother- just married,” Dwalin managed to explain after sucking in a couple of gasping breaths. “I didn’t- want- I couldn’t leave him- not before. But now, he’s not alone. Might even have children. If I'd come before, I wouldn't have left again. I wanted-"  
  
When Dwalin tried to lift his arm again Nori did not stop him and Dwalin cupped his hand, the one not bleeding, to Nori’s cheek. “I’ve thought about you. Every single day. Even when I didn't know what I wanted I still wanted you. Sometimes I’ve wondered if you enchanted me.”  
  
“Not more than you enchanted me,” Nori muttered. “You’re not the first one I’ve taught you know.”  
  
A flash of jealousy spiked through Dwalin’s chest but he willed it away.  
  
“I assumed I wasn’t,” he said.  
  
Nori looked at him for what felt like ages, and then he got up on his feet and turned, walking out into the lake.  
  
Regret threatened to choke Dwalin and he clenched his fists, the sharp bite of the wound nothing compared to the pain inside of him.

“Are you coming or what?”  
  
Dwalin’s head snapped up.  
  
“You didn’t even bring your fiddle,” Nori said and sniffed, fingers flicking some water in Dwalin’s direction.  
  
“You said I needed a new one." Dwalin got to his feet, much less gracefully than Nori had.  
  
“And _that_ you chose to listen to?” Nori shook his head. “Are you going to stand there all night? Until your beard falls off as well?”  
  
The water was cold when Dwalin stepped into it, but it was the good kind of cold. Like asking for ice to be brought up from the cellar on the hottest of summer days. He just wished that he’d remembered to undress as he felt very foolish when his boots made a small bubbling sound as they filled with water.  
  
But that was forgotten quickly enough once he reached Nori.  
  
“You’re _mine_ now,” Nori said, arms sliding around Dwalin’s neck, pressing his entire body against Dwalin. And Dwalin more than happily wrapped his arms around Nori in turn, hoping to keep him there.  
  
“I already was.”  
  
-  


If you are out walking late in the evening or early in the morning you might hear the sound of laughter and beautiful music coming from a lake or river.

If you do please leave them alone.

**Author's Note:**

> (again, sorry if it comes off as a bit rushed, that's just because it is lol - AND THIS TURNED OUT SO MUCH LONGER THAN PLANNEDDDDD)
> 
> Btw, entirely unrelated to the Hobbit, but if you’ve not played Year Walk and if you like folk tales of the Nordic sort and creepy but engaging story driven, adventure/point and click puzzle games, you neeeeed to play Year Walk. 
> 
> And a small PSA, no you're not male just because you've got a cock, but to this incarnation of Dwalin that's how things work.


End file.
